International Football History and Statistics

On this day in football history

• 1926 Ben Cross scored 6 goals for the FA X1 against Pacific Coast in Vancouver. He was a very fine inside forward who played for Burnley between 1920 and 1928 and was unlucky not to gain an England cap. Won a championship medal in 1921, being a member of the Burnley side which went 30 League games without a defeat. Played in 237 League games for the Lancashire team and scored 57 goals.
• 1959 Tony Marchi rejoined Tottenham Hotspur after two years in Italian soccer. Made his debut for the London side in 1950 and gained a regular place in 1954 eventually becoming club captain. After his return from Italy he was mainly reserve to Blanchflower and McKay but did play in the 1963 European Cup Winners Final which Spurs won. Left Spurs in 1965 for Southern League football after appearing in 262 League matches and scoring 6 goals. Played one gamr for England 'B' in 1957.
• 1960 Death of Charles Buchan at the age of 68. In his playing days, from 1911 to 1928, he was one of the greatest inside forwards of all time, and it is often suggested he was too good as he only won 6 England caps between 1913 and 1924. Began his professional career with Leyton, an old Southern League club now defunct, in 1910 and after 24 games during which he scored 14 goals, he was transferred to Sunderland in March 1911. Moved to Arsenal in July 1925 and played his last first class match in May 1928. His final game was the one in which Bill Dean scored 3 goals to set the League scoring record of 60 in a season. Buchan won a League Championship medal in 1913 and played in two Cup Finals, 1913 and 1927, but finished on the losing side each time. He scored 209 goals in 380 League games for Sunderland and 49 in 102 for Arsenal. After his playing days he became a football journalist and broadcaster and in 1951 started his own football magazine.
• 1992 Denmark, the wild card entry in the 1992 European Championships, beat Germany 2-0 in the Final played in Gothenburg. Denmark were originally eliminated by Yugoslavia, but as war erupted in the Balkans they were asked to replace them a week before the Finals began. They finished second in their group, beat Holland in the semi finals on penalties, and won the trophy with goals from Jensen and Vilfort.
• 1996 England are eliminated from the 1996 European Championship finals after losing on penalties to Germany. Gareth Southgate, arguably the best player in the match, misses the crucial spot kick.